Immersion
by CaptainInappropriate
Summary: Jack and Elizabeth team up to escape the dreaded island and the curse, but just exactly how will The Pirate and The Lady stand each other? Complete. JE.
1. Chapter 1

Come Clean 1?

Elizabeth looked up at her own footprints in the sand and realized that she had already circled the island. Though she would never admit it, she absolutely adored being able to walk barefoot in the sand in nothing but her chemise with no one to even breathe a word to her. She wasn't supposed to feel that way- she wanted nothing to do with this island. No warm sun, no beautiful blue waters, no hot sand, and definitely no partly-good pirates.

"'S really not all that big, is it?" Jack asked her distractedly, watching his hands as he cleaned every part of his pistol.

As if she had forgotten that she was not alone on the island, Elizabeth turned and stared at the pirate. This was his fault, wasn't it? If he had never come along- this wouldn't have happened would it? No- if he hadn't of come along, she'd be at the bottom of the bay along the shore of Port Royal- or worse... if by the off-chance that the Marines had been able to get her out of there alive, then Barbossa's men would have come anyway.

She could strangle him.

Elizabeth really couldn't decide if she wanted Jack Sparrow's death at her hands or not. Granted, there was no possible way she could kill a man... but she really wanted to. Damn him. Damn him for getting her mixed up in it all... one way or another this had to be blamed on him. It was his fault that he was ever marooned on this God-forsaken island in the first place. It was his fault that he escaped and came along to her home, disturbing the peace like he did.

Her eyes went to the gun that he was cleaning. "If you're going to shoot me, please do so without delay." Elizabeth said grimly.

Jack's back straightened as he looked up to the woman before him, and dropped the pistol down to hang loosely in his grip with his arm resting on his knee. "Is there a problem between us, Miss Swann?" He snapped, feeling as if her attitude wasn't necessary.

"You were going to tell Barbossa about Will in exchange for a ship." She said pointedly, in a tone that suggested that she had just read his diary, and had learned everything there was to know about him.

"We could use a ship!" The captain all but shouted. He stared up at her and gave her an angry, sideways look. "The fact is I was going to NOT tell Barbossa about bloody Will in exchange for a ship, because as long as he didn't know about bloody Will, I had something to bargain with. Which now, no one has. Thanks to bloody stupid Will."

Elizabeth realized in that instant that the pirate standing before her wasn't all wicked. For the first time since he wrapped a thick chain around her neck in Port Royal, she saw that he was interested in helping others as well as himself. Something she should have noticed when he jumped into the waters to save a woman he had never met.

"Oh,"

Jack stood and tucked his pistol away with angry, jerky motions. "Oh," He mimicked.

"He still risked his life to save ours." She pointed out, and cringed as Jack shouted a mock laugh in her direction before turning and running off. "But we have to do something to rescue him!" She shouted irrationally, running after Jack.

Jack had officially lost his temper as he spun around to face the only other person on the island in which he now occupied. Hadn't Elizabeth noticed that they were STRANDED on a DESERTED island? "Off you go then," He said hurriedly, waving her away. "Let me know how that turns out."

Jack was incredibly mad. He was upset about being in his position just for a girl, and for that girl being so loud, so stupid, so naïve, and so striking with nothing but the sun and the ocean behind her. She should be extremely grateful that Jack wasn't just any pirate. Any other pirate would see a woman in nothing but her unmentionables, a deserted island, and only a small amount of life left as an INCREDIBLE opportunity.

Elizabeth had grown tired of Jack mocking her, and still followed after him. "But you were marooned on this island before, weren't you? So we can escape in the same way you did then!"

Jack turned to her and seemingly looked down his nose at her. "To what point and purpose, young missy? _The Black Pearl _is gone, and unless you have a rudder and a lot of sails hidden the that bodice," He looked her up and down with his hands raised in a shrug "unlikely," He observed with one last nod. "Young Mr. Turner will be dead long before you can reach him." He finished his reasoning with her and started to bounce up and down on the beach sand, watching it slightly give under his weight.

"But you're Captain Jack Sparrow!" She called, circling to the other side of him. "You vanished from under the eyes of seven agents of the East India Company! You sacked Nassau Port without even firing a shot! Are you the pirate I've read about or not?" She paused for her praise to settle in then finally added, "How did you escape last time."

"Last time..." He started, seemingly struggling with himself- not wanting to damage his ego or reputation. "Last time I was here a grand total of three days, alright." He said finally, then with a curt nod and a tight smile, he side stepped her and pulled open a hatch that lead to a cellar. "Last time, the rum runners used this island as a cache, came by and I was able to barter a passage off. From the looks of things- they've long been out of business." He told her, walking down the stairs, then back up with two bottles of rum. "Probably have your bloody friend Norrington to thank for that."

Elizabeth ignored the bottle he offered to her and stared at him- trying to keep her bottom lip from quivering like it was. "So that's it then...That's the secret- 'grand' adventure of the infamous Jack Sparrow? You spent three days lying on a beach, drinking rum?" She spat, the idea becoming more and more disgusting each time it ran through her mind. _She wasn't going to get off of this island._

Jack contemplated what to say for a moment, but then grinned and told her, "Welcome to the Caribbean, love." Then push past her and left her staring after him..

Elizabeth Swann, for the first time in her life, didn't try to keep her anger in check, and turned to chase after the captain, yet again.

"So," She started, coming to a stop in the same position they had been after her walk around the island. "Was there any truth to the other stories?"

"Truth!" Jack asked instantly, before sitting. He snarled and raised his right sleeve to show the pirate brand, which she had seen on the docks of Port Royal. But when he lifted the cuff from his left sleeve, she had to take a step back. A nasty scar that seemed to follow the veins burned red across his tan skin. And finally, he dropped his left arm and used his right to pull back the side of his half opened shirt to expose two very dark scars from gun shot wounds. "No truth at all." He took the opportunity to explain the situation at hand while Elizabeth was shocked into silence. He sat down in the hot sand and picked up one of his bottles of rum, and toyed with the cork as he spoke. "Keep a weather eye open for passing ships and our chances are fair." He finished and took a long swig of alcohol.

Elizabeth watched him momentarily, seeing that he had lost all of his former personality. "We have to do something." She returned meekly, unwilling to give up so quickly.

"You're absolutely right." Jack said, making Elizabeth feel hopeful, if for only a split second. He re-corked the bottle he had and sent it rolling in the sand towards her feet before opening the other for himself. "Here's luck to you, Will Turner." He toasted and drank.

Elizabeth slowly bent and picked up the bottle from the shallow wave that had wrapped itself around her ankles. She then slowly walked over to Jack before sitting down in the sand as well. Looking at the bottle, she uncorked it and sighed. "Drink up me 'earties, yo ho." She muttered before taking a small drink of the liquid and cringing.

"What was that, 'Lizabeth?" Jack asked, turning and squinting to see her in the sun.

"It's Ms. Swann." She bit and looked out to sea. Jack flashed a irritated set of hand movements before she continued. "Nothing. A song I learnt as a child when I thought it'd be exciting to meet a pirate." Elizabeth answered, her tone showing her dissatisfaction with the pirate at hand.

Jack widened his eyes for a moment, but then brushed off the comment. "Let's hear it."

"No!" She protested, immediately.

Jack rolled his eyes and pointed out cruelly, "We have the time. Let's have it."

"No!" Elizabeth said again, and looked away as she ran her hands up and down the bottle. "I'd have to have a lot more to drink," She added quietly.

Jack looked at her and raised his own bottle to down a bit more, but served her with a true pirate's smirk and asked, "How much more?" Before taking a long drink.

Elizabeth shook her head and moved to make herself comfortable in the sand.

The next several hours were spent with Elizabeth rolling the bottle around in the sand where she lie on her side, her eyes glued on the flat, blue horizon. Mutiny wasn't exactly as exciting as it was in the books right now. Elizabeth spent most of her time thinking of not only Will, but the rest of Jack's crew as well. She had been taken by one of those wretched undead pirates and swung back over to the _Inteceptor_- where she quickly met up with Jack. No sooner than she had her feet on the deck, the Pearl turned its rudder to the opposing ship, and retreated. They had what they wanted- or so they thought.

It wasn't long after Will swung over the railing with a pistol to his neck that she knew her fate- starving to death on a deserted island.

Jack came walking over, his pace almost a skip, and plopped down beside her, his elbows propping him up as he lay on his back. He closed his eyes and let the sun wash over him before speaking. "Sorry to disappoint, love."

"No." She said gently. "You're just sorry you haven't anyone to talk to."

Jack sighed, sounding like he was going to have a smart come-back to that, but instead lowered himself all the way back onto the sand and smirked. "You're a bitter lass, aren't you?"

"I happen to be waiting for myself to starve to death, Captain -Jack- -Sparrow-, I'm not in the most impressive of moods." She spat through clenched teeth and kept her eyes squinting out to the waters.

"Aye- but there's food, love." He said sitting up. How could she have missed that? "In all of your... blind rage about me not being the most... marvelous pirate in the ocean, did you not see the cellar I was in?"

"I presume it's full of rum, is it not?"

"Rum yes, but there's food as well, love." He told her with a satisfied smile. "You really ought to learn to trust the pirate, Miss Swann."

"Not likely."

Jack got up, and with some convincing and a lot of tugging, he finally got Elizabeth's hopeless, limp form to get up out of the sand and follow him. There wasn't much food in the cellar; some cooled fruits, but mostly spices and other bits of food stored on a typical merchant vessel and, which would otherwise be nonexistent on the island. A few slabs of large salt-water fish lay wrapped in seaweed, covered in salt as to not spoil in the coolness of the underground storage room instead of the hot surface of the land. There were even a few bottles of fresh water mixed in with the rum, useful when stranded on an island.

Elizabeth and Jack sparingly ate some fruit that had kept surprisingly well, but stayed away from the meat. No sense in chancing illness when one is already facing death. After eating and grabbing another bottle of rum, Jack gathered a few palm tree leaves and a wooden crate from the cellar and lit them by sprinkling some rum on top, the knocking two rocks together to get a spark and eventually a flame. It would more than likely be a long night.


	2. Chapter 2

"I must admit, Jack, you know how to be efficiently stranded." Elizabeth muttered humorlessly and flopped back down in the sand after another short walk.

"Why thank you, Love, I have put my best efforts forth to assure that... we're comfortable." Jack returned, with a bit of a suggestive tone.

"I hate to say," She started, seemingly ignoring Jack's comment. "But the waters are simply beautiful."

"Aye." Jack said in agreement, and leaned back on his elbows with his bottle close by. After a few moments of silence, the heat started to get to Jack and he rolled up his white sleeves, revealing his dark, scarred and tattooed arms once again.

Without looking over from the different shades of blue of the waters, Elizabeth quietly asked, "Jack, why on earth are you so filthy?"

Not taking any offence in her statement, Jack shrugged. "I'm a pirate, love."

At that, Elizabeth turned towards him, the bright light of the afternoon shining on her skin, making her seem to glow. "That you are." She noted and turned back to the waters.

The two of them stayed like this for several hours, silently thinking to themselves and watching the sun start to set. Elizabeth finally moved just as the sky was starting to turn orange and the temperatures barely dropped: the signal of evening. She walked slowly and thoughtfully toward the waters, and stopped when the cool waves lapped at her ankles once again. The sand sifted over and through her bare toes, and she moved them about in the cool water before continuing.

Several steps later, Elizabeth was up to her waist in the cool salt water, enjoying the feeling. She needed to feel clean- it would be just about the only good feeling she could find on this island right now. With a small smile, surprisingly not forced, she dropped underwater and closed her eyes as the water circled her body, cooling and cleansing it.

She relished in the feeling of the water moving about her legs and arms, and her shift softly grazing her skin. Before she knew it, she was back above the surface running her hands over her hair as she faced Jack.

"Goin' t'swim off the island, love?" Jack called noticing that she was looking straight at him.

"I can't swim that far." She said, obviously, and smiled. Jack seemed taken aback by either her smile, or the lack of anger and hatred in her voice. "I'm only going to bathe."

Jack stood and walked far enough into the water for the blue ripples to barely lap against the bottom of his pants, which were rolled up to just below his knees. "Bathe in seawater?" He asked, knowing full well that her skin would itch, and her dress would dry stiff.

"Yes," She took another step back, and the water was up to her shoulders. Jack was nearly 5 meters away, but he could still hear her when she said, "It's beautiful."

"What is, love?" He asked, and slowly walked forward until he was no more than a meter away.

"The ocean. The waters- it's simply... beautiful." Elizabeth told him, spinning once in the water, then landing her eyes on the horizon where the blue waters started to fade into orange with the reflection of the sunset.

"Aye, she is but a beauty." Jack agreed, his gaze turning outward as well. "'Tis a gentleman's greatest companion at times."

Elizabeth, dripping wet, turned toward Jack and stared at him for some time. Jack stared as well. Just as he was opening his mouth to ask her if he had something on his face, he was met with a wave of water and the sound of great laughter. His mouth shut again, and he looked at Elizabeth, who was already flinching away from a return 'attack'.

Jack stood still until she sobered, making her worry that he was angered, but then he started splashing her with both of his arms flailing into the water. Elizabeth had a choice; to sink under the water in forfeit, or to splash back. She began to move her arms as well, and slightly step backwards every time Jack got closer.

He wasn't laughing as much as she was, only chuckling with a devious grin on his face, but Elizabeth was completely content to laugh as hard as she could. A woman of such high standards didn't have opportunity very often to laugh and feel all around happy. She was enjoying her self, letting herself forget about the island that she was confined to, and try her hardest to beat Jack at a game she would no doubt lose.

Jack's chuckling disappeared and Elizabeth's splashes hit only the blue water they came from, and her eyes opened to look around. Jack was gone. He was no doubt under the water, waiting to pop up and scare her. She hadn't noticed until that moment that she was no longer standing on the bottom of the ocean with her toes in the sand, but wading in the open.

She thought of calling out Jack's name, but knew that if he was underwater, he wouldn't hear her. She then thought of swimming back to shore and leaving him to drown, but knew that he was watching her from where ever he was down there. The thought was a bit more than a disturbing one and she struggled to find a way to keep her chemise close to her legs.

Instead of leaving or calling, Elizabeth sucked in a breath and let her muscles go limp long enough for her to sick below water, then used her arms to go deeper. The bottom was a lot farther than she thought. Even with the setting of the sun and the sting from the salt water, with her eyes opened Elizabeth could see around her in the clear waters. Jack wasn't in her line of vision, which was limited, but good enough to look for him. Just as her lungs began to persuade her to rise back to the top, arms came around her and Elizabeth tired her hardest not to laugh and suck in water.

Jack's arms let go and she made her way to the surface, followed by the captain. Air rushed into her lungs, and Elizabeth tired to savor it, but found herself laughing instead. The two made their way back to where the bottom was reachable, and Jack splashed the younger woman once more for good measure.

"Jack Sparrow!" She called, and ran a hand over her face. "That was uncalled for!"

"I don't think it was, love." He returned with his all too well-known grin.

Elizabeth playfully frowned at him but as her eyes traveled to where his hands were hovering along the top of the water, her expression became one of pure concentration before she grinned and slipped beneath the water momentarily.

Jack grinned and found himself forgetting about the predicament that he found himself in. The first time he found himself knee-deep in water watching his own ship retreat, he had been devastated, frantic, really. A good deal of time had been spent running and yelling in anger. He cursed his previous first mate several times before remembering why the crew had been on the way to the treacherous Isle de Muerte in the first place.

That day, some ten years ago, Jack wished the curse upon Barbossa with all of his being. "And cursed you deserve to remain!" He shouted at the top of his lungs before deciding to lie pitifully in the grass surrounding some palm trees. If the other pirate wanted to seek out this haunted treasure on his own, it would mean that Jack wouldn't be in any danger of a curse, should he survive on the island.

But now, here on the very same island, Jack Sparrow watched a very young governor's daughter spin herself around in the water before turning to smile at him. If he were destined to die on this island this time, then perhaps he would die happy.


	3. Chapter 3

The sun was just short of set as the two new inhabitants of one very small island in the Caribbean played happily in the warm waters. Jack Sparrow watched with a smirk on his face as Ms. Swann stopped her little water-dance and looked at him. "Jack," She started, her tone almost irritated. His expression dropped as he listened to her. "How can it be that we're standing in clean water, and you're still filthy?"

Jack looked down to where her gaze was fixed on his hands, and shrugged. "Ms Swann, I've worked very hard for many years to be this... striking." He told her and held up his nearly black hands to observe them himself. "A lil' dip in the water would never suffice to change that."

"Perhaps," She started and ran a finger over the dirt on the back of his hand. "But I'm sure to make quick work of undoing your work." Elizabeth smirked at Jack's expression when she took his hand in hers and started to rub away the grim with her thumb- he look nearly horrified.

He didn't stop her though, instead watched in awe as she took his arm and scrubbed with her soft fingers. The blackness that had unintentionally built up over years of work with dingy ropes came off almost easily, with the proper amount of pressure. Before he knew it, the captain was chuckling quietly to himself, thinking of their situation.

"What do you find so very comical, Captain Sparrow?" She asked him with his hand still in hers, her eyes narrowing in a near-glare.

"One week ago, would you have imagined that you'd be in uncharted waters holding hands with a _pirate_, waiting to die on a deserted island in naught but yer skivvies?"

Elizabeth looked down to her own body, noting the state of her shift in the water, then moved her gaze to the side of Jack, on the moving waters. Then, with a silent shrug and a shake of her head, she returned to scrubbing his hand. "Where are you from, Jack?" She asked after a quiet moment.

"Born on a ship, love." Jack said and shrugged with his eyes still glued to her working hands.

Elizabeth had to admit to herself that she didn't really expect any other answer. Somewhere inside her head, she had thought it to be incredibly entertaining to think that Jack Sparrow had been a man of rich heritage; then ran off to join a pirate ship and be engaged in the incredible stories that she had read about.

"And you, love?" Jack asked, looking down at her face as she worked, instead of her hands.

"England. My father and I came to the Isle of Jamaica just after my mother died of the fever." She told him, and looked up to him quickly before hastily trading to his opposite hand.

"My condolences." He said shortly. Then looked down as she traced his brand gently. "Are you quite done yet?" He asked, watching her unbutton his sleeves to get farther.

"No." The two of them were still in thigh-deep water and dripping wet. The sun was nearly done setting and the night's wind was bringing a chill off the water. "Does it hurt to get inking done like this?" Elizabeth asked, rubbing her opened-palm over the tattoo of a sparrow in flight to remove the dark grime.

"Probably." Jack asked honestly. Elizabeth looked to his eyes questioningly. "Whiskey helps, love, to dull the senses."

"Ah- the alcohol. Drink up, me 'heartie." She repeated calmly with a sideways grin.

"Drink up, indeed." Jack said and felt a change in her movements to be more gentle and detached. "I think it's clean." He told her, trying to take his arm back.

"Ah- no it's not. But it will have to suffice for now- as we have no soap!" She said, sounding almost proud of her work. Jack tried to turn and flee to the land, but was stopped. "No, Jack, we can't have you mismatched!" She said, and repeated all of her previous actions on his left arm.

The two of them made their way back to dry land and lay down on either side of the fire, which had picked up a bit with the breeze. Jack held his bottle gingerly and Elizabeth though of Will and before long, the two of them were asleep.

-

Jack woke up the next morning with a groan. Once he had fully woken up, he looked around for his 'company' and found her behind his back, bundled up no more than three feet away from him. 'The lass must be missing her warm bed and servant's care.' Jack smirked at his own thoughts and got up.

Not feeling up to lying still and listening to his thoughts, Jack got up and started to make his way around the interior of the island. He remembered that there had been nothing helpful on the island, but it had been nearly a decade, and he had decided that it wouldn't hurt a thing to look. When he last was marooned on the unmapped island, Captain Jack Sparrow had been too angry and upset to think of much else other than the mutiny. It wasn't until he was faced with several gun barrels and quick talking himself out of a sticky situation that he realized that he had out run his own death.

Whether or not he had just had good fortune within bad conditions, Jack had decided that this island was not meant to be his final resting place. So on this trip to the small spatter of sand amongst miles of water, Jack had no intention of letting himself die, or Elizabeth for that matter. He would get off of 'his' island, it was just a matter of time before the famous Captain Jack Sparrow had a plan.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - I feel bad for Jack for not coming up with the plan on his own, so I'm going to change that just a little bit! Yay!

-

Not long after Jack had ventured far enough away from Elizabeth to be seen, she awoke. She instantly knew where she was, her mind not giving her any sympathy in the hot sun. She did her best to ignore her growling stomach, and sat up in the warm said to look out to sea once more. 'Keep a weather eye,' she remembered Jack saying and sighed.

Elizabeth sat staring out at the horizon blankly for quite some time. Jack was still meandering around in the trees, probably to waste time. It was beginning to look like she wasn't going to get off the island. She had expected Jack to have a plan by the time they got back to shore, but apparently he didn't.

Maybe he did, and he just wasn't telling her. He had proven himself to be rather shady on more than one occasion since Elizabeth had met him. He was, after all, called Captain Jack Sparrow for a reason.

As Elizabeth's hands sifted through the sand, her eyes watched the waves without seeing anything. Her mind was a blank, and so were most of her other senses. The night before had been ridiculously cold causing her to barely sleep. And now she was uncomfortable in her white chemise as the sun beat down on her. She angrily wiped away a drop of sweat that had started to travel down across her temple, remembering how long she had stayed awake shivering even with the rum in her system. Consequentially, all of her muscles ached with exhaustion, and her eyes burned and felt rather swollen in the sun.

Elizabeth Swann was feeling pathetic at the moment.

Without a thought, she let her muscles go limp and her back hit the hot sand almost gratefully. It was at the precise moment when she had begun to relax and she felt a nap coming on, that Jack chose to grace her with his presence. His shade covered her, removing the warmth that was easing the tension out of her body, and then the jingling of his hair decorations was accompanied by his voice. "I have come to the conclusion, love, that there is- in fact- no one else on this island." He told her nearly comically, then shot his eyes sideways with a tight smile before continuing. "Besides the two of us, of course."

"That's wonderful, Jack." Elizabeth murmured, not caring to hear what he was saying, wondering why he would come and tell her something to ridiculous as the two of them began to slowly die.

The fact of the matter was that Jack had already grown lonely, and wanted Elizabeth to speak to him like she had yesterday. In such eternal silence, one's mind could wander with ease to very worrisome places.

"Miss Swann, I do believe that if you put some rum in yourself you would feel quite better." He said, squatting down with a stare on her closed eyelids.

"And I, Jack, do believe that you're wrong." She answered, but then considered her options. Jack hadn't mentioned any fresh water on the island aside from the jugs underground- meaning the drink in question would eventually be her only option. Little did she know that alcohol would, in fact, dehydrate her body.

"Well fine then," Jack said gravely and stood. "I'll be enjoying our vacation, if you'd care to join me."

Elizabeth opened her eyes and stared at the sky. To her, that seemed to be some sort of an admission that he had a plan. 'Vacation?' She repeated and waited a moment before getting up and walking quickly through the sand to find Jack. He was already sitting right in the middle of the island, a bottle of rum in had as he lounged in the cool shade from the palm trees.

"Jack, do you have a plan?" She watched as the Captain looked calmly over to her and grinned before closing his eyes and lying back in the grass. "Jack?" He simply held up his rum bottle to her and she waited for a moment before taking it from him. "Do you have a plan?" She repeated once more in an impatient tone.

"Relax love." He said in a calm tone as he sat up, and took the bottle of rum back from her. He uncorked it and handed it back to her before saying, "I believe it was you that said, 'Drink up.'" He said and she stared at him once again.

-

"We're devils and black sheep and really bad eggs!" Both sang in their loudest voices. "Drink up me 'earties yo ho! Yo ho yo ho a pirates life for me!"

The sun had set and it was probably close to midnight, but with the help of the large fire that had been built and the obscene amount of alcohol between the two of them, Elizabeth and Jack were perfectly comfortable.

"I love this song!" Jack said, half walking, half stumbling back around to the north side of the fire. "Really bad eggs!" He shouted and fell with a grunt. Elizabeth followed him, not trying hard to ape his path, the sand and alcohol doing a fine job of it for her. Once she got within an arms length of Jack, he shot out his arm and pulled her down next to him. "When I get _the Pearl_ back, I'm gonna teach it to the whole crew," He stated with a wave of his rum-bearing arm and a squint as though he was picturing it. "and we'll sing it all the time!"

Elizabeth leaned in closer as she spoke hurriedly with a proud stature. "And you'll be positively the most fearsome pirates in the Spanish Main."

Jack's eyes seemed to widen at the thought- as though he found it blasphemous. "Not just the Spanish Main, love." He started in his drunken, almost growling tone. "the entire ocean... the entire wo'ld... Wherever we want to go, we'll go." He said, bobbing his head in time to his words, and still waving his arm about as he told his story. "That's what a ship is, yanno. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails- that's what a ship needs. But what a ship really is," Jack paused, his voice getting lower as he got further into his speech. "What _the Pearl_ really is..." He looked out to the water and near-whispered, "Is freedom."

Elizabeth sighed and thought of what Jack was saying. She had always wanted freedom when she was a little girl. Jack had always lived in freedom- and here he was on the island with no escape. At that very moment, Elizabeth Swann understood the pirate next to her. "Jack," She said, and leaned in further with her head on his shoulder. "It must be really terrible for you to be trapped on this island." She said and looked out to the waters as well.

Jack seemed to snap back to his senses as he felt Elizabeth's weight lean into him, and he looked down at her. "Oh yes." He said and wrapped his arm around her. "But the company is... infinitely better then last time." His fingers, one by one, slightly gripped her shoulder. "I think. And the- the scenery has definitely improved."

Elizabeth had barely realized that Jack had put his arm upon her shoulder, but was trying her damnedest to think of how her plan would work. "Mr. Sparrow!" She squealed as his words started to sink in, and sat straight up. "I'm not entirely sure that I've had enough rum to allow that kind of talk." Yes, that would do, that would do very nicely, in fact.

Jack looked at her with something like a trace of a smirk. "I know exactly what you mean, love." He murmured and set his bottle of rum down in the sand, then returned his hand to his face. He took one end of his moustache in between each of his thumbs and forefingers and curled it slightly upward before picking up his bottle again.

"To freedom." Elizabeth said as a toast with her bottle raised, and Jack returned it. After a long drink, and then some silence after Jack laid down to stare at the stars. "How are we going to get off this island, Jack." She asked, finally having a plan of her own in case Jack hadn't come up with one.

"Oh Elizabeth, do quit worrying. We've got some time, and we'll devise a plan soon enough." Jack answered, sick of her bothering him about it and more interested in the alcohol.

"But what about Barbossa? What about your ship?" She asked, leaning over the captain just a bit.

Jack opened his eyes wide and stared at her. She was perhaps the first person in ten years to properly acknowledge him as the rightful owner of _The Black Pearl_. "Well, I suppose we should do something, then." He slurred, the alcohol finally catching up with him. There was, after all, only so much rum one can drink before he is inebriated.

"What about a signal?" Elizabeth asked, trying to plant her ideas into his own. "A... smoke signal?" Her tone was quiet, as Jack looked as though he was thinking.

He seemed to have an epiphany. "I believe we'll build a smoke signal!" He told her with great arm gestures as he spoke.

"And we'll burn the trees?" She asked, and he repeated. "And the... contents of the cellar?"

"And the contents of the cellar!" Jack paused before reasoning, "But not the rum, of course."

"Oh but we'll need the rum." Elizabeth told him, propping herself up on one arm as she reached across Captain Jack Sparrow to pick up his half-full bottle. Jack was shaking his head enough to cause his trinkets to jingle. She put the bottle up to his lips and he took a long drink.

"And we shall burn the rum." Jack said, narrowing his eyes after Elizabeth nodded at his 'genius'. She pulled them up, and they were off to start a very large fire before Jack passed out...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5- Thanks so much everyone! I **love** JE and find it incredibly hard to read anything else unless the author rocks my face off! Mucho thanks to Captain Ammie, Murdererer ( I actually misspelled it like this today!), Novalea, PirateLass1963, Mrs. Skywalker (totally has my last name in it haha) and Captain Anna! Amazing how many captains are on this site lol!

Chapter 5- changing the script a but DON'T PANIC:-D

The muscles in Elizabeth's arms shook and protested as she used her body weight to hurl the last crate of the precious rum into the exceedingly large fire, which they had spent the morning in it's entirety to build. Jack had just recently fallen unconscious, leaving Elizabeth to finish the work herself.

An explosion rang out and she let her knees buckle to lower her to the ground and covered her head with both of her arms. It was about that time that Jack Sparrow came back from his drunken slumber and hopped to his feet.

"That's the last of it." She mumbled to herself just as Jack went speeding past her with his arms flailing frantically.

"No!" He bellowed and looked at the fire with a cringe. "Not good!" He recognized the smell of the fire and felt both grief and anger start to fill him. "Stop! Not good! What are you doing?" Elizabeth had already turned and was looking out to the horizon. "You burned all the food, the shade... the rum!"

"Yes, Jack." Elizabeth stated in an impatient tone. "The rum is gone. And it was YOUR idea." She added, wondering if she could convince him of this now that he was starting to return to the sober world.

"Why is the rum gone?" Elizabeth set her jaw and frowned. Was alcohol all that this man cared for?

"You decided to burn the rum to make a signal. And with the entire Royal Navy out looking for me, do you really think they'll miss this one? It's over a thousand feet high, now, sit, Sparrow," She commanded, throwing herself in the sand as well. "Keep a weather eye, now, it won't be long."

Jack's mind was still mostly clouded by either drunkenness or anger and he failed to see the point of Ms. Swann's ramblings. He really didn't figure himself daft enough to come up with this plan, and repeated, "But why is the rum gone?"

"Just wait, Captain Sparrow." Elizabeth said and kept her hard stare out to the horizon in front of her. "Give it one hour, maybe two, but you **will** see white sails on that horizon." She told him.

For just barely an instant, Captain Jack Sparrow saw the rationality of the plan in which he apparently devised. But then the thought passed, and it was replaced by very real anger.

He stared at her from behind, the very idea of dying along with **her** on this island infuriating him. He pulled his pistol from it's spot nestled under his belt and gripped the barrel before it was aimed. That shot was meant for Barbossa, and Jack had to inwardly kick himself to remember that. After a quick moment of fumbling with the weapon, it was placed back in its rightful place. His well-trained eyes snapped up to the horizon as a fleck on the line found his attention. Lo and behold, there was a ship, apparently making it way towards them. "Bloody hell." Jack murmured inaudibly and walked toward the trees where his 'effects' were stored.

Elizabeth watched Jack silently (taking her attention off the sea and all together missing the oncoming ship) as he threw himself down into the grass once again. And there he lay for nearly an hour, his eyes closed with his face looking up to the sun. Elizabeth hadn't intentionally aimed to upset him. Although when the possibility crossed her mind, as she was conjuring her plan, it hadn't stopped her.

Besides, Jack purposefully enraged her quite often, so why not pay him back, per say?

"I am sorry for the loss of your rum, Jack." She called, just loud enough for him to hear, not entirely sure whether or not the Captain was awake.

"It's quite a'right, love." Jack said without moving or opening his eyes, but stretched his arms out before folding them under his head. "There is sure to be more rum in the world than that. And it worked, so it is no matter."

Elizabeth shot him a questioning look despite the fact that his eyes remained closed, and pondered what he meant. It was then she remembered that she was supposed to be keeping her eye at sea, and snapped her gaze to a ship on the horizon. It was no bigger than a pebble to her eyes, but it was coming toward her, full speed, from what it seemed. "It worked indeed." Elizabeth mumbled and watched intently.

Sooner than later, the task of watching something that seemed to be sitting still became boring and lulled Elizabeth down toward the sand, where she now lay on her side with half-open eyes. Jack was still baking in the sun merrily just behind her.

By the time the ship was becoming more distinct, Elizabeth was mostly asleep. The only sounds registering to her were the small waves tumbling on top of one another and a breeze rustling in the trees that weren't burning. The heat of the fire still barely fell upon her arm and the crackling from what was left of the wooden crates rang out only every few seconds, reminding her to momentarily open her eyes to look at the ship that didn't seem to be any closer.

At last, her body's exhaustion took her over and she fell asleep peacefully before she could notice that the reason her new found ship wasn't coming any closer was that it had dropped anchor and a smaller boat was on its way to get the two of them.


	6. Chapter 6

Yay for immersion! And **Dear Mrs. Skywalker,** heh. I'm not exactly _redoing_ the chapters, I'm just editing them becuse in all honestly, I wrote them poorly and never went back to fix them when I posted! Thanks so much, I think, if that was a good review, and if not, then I'm sorry! But see there are things that were horribly off- like the crew showing up on the interceptor when it had been sunk, and then with the chapters after this one- when Jack's crew was on the ship I was very sketchy with the details there and I think you, Mrs. Skywalker, were one of the reviewers that were confused :-D So, as you'll see, you're not easily confused, I just get a little excited and leave parts of the story out ;-) LOL and Ps, i sure haven't seen batman yet!

and for everyone else reading this- I SEE YOU. You should REVIEW tell me if there's anything else that doesn't make sense!

I LOVE THIS CHAPTER!

Chapter 6

Shortly after he arrived on the shore of a timy little island, Commodore Norrington found himself pacing the sands impatiently.

His men had searched the island in its entirety and hadn't seen so much as a trace of Elizabeth- or any other human for that matter. But that didn't explain the fire that was just now starting to die down. How on Earth do you explain a fire the size of a small house with alcohol, crates, and food as its fuel? Someone was here and had made a signal to be rescued. It looked as though they had been rescued indeed.

Was it his Elizabeth that was on this island? He tracked what footprints he could find in the sand, which were few and scattered. It seemed that the best were in the moist sand near the waterline and seeming as how the tide was starting to come in, most of them were washed away, erased by the cool Caribbean waters.

What if it was Elizabeth Swann that was on this island? Was she alone? Had she been rescued? And if so, by whom? 'More pirates, probably.' Norrington thought to himself. 'What a fate for such a fine woman.' And once again, Norrington felt grief and pain in his being, thinking of that young Governor's daughter amidst the doings of those filthy outlaws. If only he could have gotten to her first.

"Sir?" Gillette asked, walking up to where his Commodore was inspecting the sands. "There's no trace of anyone on his island. The sun is near to setting, we ought to be setting sail aboard the Dauntless."

"Yes, we ought." Norrington said, and looked around to the red coats scattered on the island. Some were looking through the palm trees for signs of camp, some were inspecting the fire, and some were staring back at him. "Round them up, get them back to the ship." He commanded, then turned to stare at Gillette from a close distance. "Top speed."

Elizabeth rolled over and stretched. Mid-yawn, she snapped her mouth shut and sat straight up. She was in a bed, and, from the movement of her surroundings, she was apparently on a ship.

"Up at last!" She heard and looked up to see Gibbs with a plate of some sort of food. "Ye been out for a long time, Miss Elizabeth."

"Where am I? When did I get off the island... where's Jack?" She asked, pulling the sheets off herself and standing.

"Ah Missy, you need not worry. We got ye off the island near about high noon, and Jack is no where else but up at the Helm of this, 'Interceptor'."

"The Interceptor? I thought for sure it would have been ravaged by Barbossa!"

"Aye, she was nearly done for. But we've got her sailin' again. Not as fast as before, but she'll make due to the Isle de Muerta. Cursed place- and bad luck."

"Oh Gibbs, you and your luck. On deck, mate." Jack said from where he was standing unnoticed at the door. Elizabeth gasped and looked over at him in surprise.

Jack watched Gibbs walk by and exit to the outside deck before mocking his company's gasp. "Why, Miss Swann, are you so surprised?" He asked in a high, mocking voice.

"You startled us." She said in a rather nonchalant tone.

"For thus I apologize."

"Why are we going to the Isle de Muerta?"

"For thee William, of course!" Jack said, walking further into the room, revealing a bottle of rum in one hand (of course) and his closed compass in the other. Seeing Elizabeth advert her gaze, Jack sat on the side of the bed. Whether the gesture was welcomed he didn't seem to pay much heed. "What's on your mind, love?"

"Oh Jack," Elizabeth said, looking up to him with tears threatening in the corners of her eyes. "You said it yourself, he'll be dead before we get there."

"Maybe." Jack offered no consolation. "But if the curse is lifted and we catch that mangy crew, Barbossa will meet his end."

Elizabeth stared at Jack, nearly startled at how his tone changed when he talked about killing his mutinous first-mate. "But Will-"

"Shall be avenged, if his fate brings him to an end here." Jack said, standing and looking down his nose at Elizabeth. "I can assure you that." And with those words, his demeanor changed back into his ever-so-cheerful cover and he traipsed out of the room.

Elizabeth looked to the plate of pork that Gibbs had left and dove for it. It had only taken the girl a few minutes to eat the food before her, and she was off to deck. It was almost dark outside, and there was no sign of land, only water. The blue water was fading away to black with small licks of orange as the sun set, casting it's light in all directions. It was really a beautiful night, but the clouds covering Elizabeth's mind prevented her from seeing it.

Was her Will really dead? He had chanced death once already in his life and triumphed, but could he do it twice?

Her feet made their way over to where Jack was manning the ship without the help of her mind, and she stood, silently staring out to the night.

Jack watched her walk by and began to find himself wondering what she was looking at. Ana Maria walked by and he told her quietly to take the wheel, then walked over behind Elizabeth. He stood there for several minutes, knowing full well that she hadn't a clue that he was there before he raised a hand and placed it on her shoulder. She didn't jump as he expected she would, but instead turned her head to first look at his hand, then to his face.

She took in his entire expression before turning back to face the sea. With a sigh, she whispered, "What are you planning?"

"Well that depends." Jack said in a low, growling tone.

"On?" She persuaded.

"On what you're speaking of." He explained, and moved his hand from her shoulder to the back of her neck where we caressed her skin. "If you mean something concerning your dear William, then I have me a plan, and it will make do. But there are other plans running through this ol' head." Jack murmured, his tone rather distant.

Elizabeth turned her head to look at him again and his eyes went from the ocean to hers. "Jack?" She asked quietly, wondering what he meant. For only the briefest of moments, the two leaned in and their lips brushed.

Elizabeth's gaze remained on his lips, but Jack's eyes slid back over to the distance in front of them and with a nod, he squinted and spoke again. "The Isle de Muerta is just over that horizon, love. You'd best be getting some rest." And with a wave of his right hand, he grinned and added, "It's likely to be a very trying morning."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7- okay everyone, here's the rewrite of chapter 7, and I think I like it much better :-D thanks again for being so patient! REVIEW FRIENDS!

Jack was right.

Elizabeth retreated back into what would have been the day cabin for the commander of the ship, since this was a naval vessel. She could imagine perfectly the master and commander watching over things as the first and second watches switched places. This was a tiny ship, compared to most, twenty-four gun if she remembered right.

She wouldn't have ever admitted it to anyone, but the day the Interceptor arrived in Port Royal had been especially exciting for Elizabeth. She had read so many books about ships and such, but all she had ever seen was the Dauntless, which was heavily armed, but usually used for transportation rather than fighting. But then the day the Interceptor arrived in the small- but growing- port, she found herself facing a real-live battleship, rumored to be the fastest. But now look at it... infested with pirates.

But by god, was Jack right. The night came and went too quickly, and she found herself facing a day that was just too much for her to bear. She had remained alert most of the night, repeating over and over to herself, 'I kissed a pirate.' Sometimes wistfully, and sometimes disgusted, and when she wasn't dwelling on that, she was dreading what was surely to come the next day.

But now, the Captain was getting ready to go fight a battle that he could not win, and leaving her with a ship full of pirates she didn't quite trust. They all seemed to eye her sideways, their gaze slightly on guard and threatening. The woman pirate gave Elizabeth the chills, especially since she had put a gun to her head and threatened her up to the pirates fighting for her.

Ignoring the protests he was receiving from Elizabeth, Jack got into a dinghy and waited to be lowered into the waters that led into the caves of the Isle de Muerta. Once again, as she had done so many times already, Elizabeth broke free of the arms holding her and ran up to the boat to her hands on the side while pleading, "Jack- you can't go in there alone! They're all already dead! You can't kill them!"

The Black Pearl was still sitting in the cove that it was 'hidden' in, proving that Barbossa was inside. Jack was off to 'tie up loose ends'. "Yes, Miss Swann, I know. Now- off you go." He said taking her hands and prying them off the boat.

"No- Jack!" She belted and grabbed onto his arm, fisting the previously white fabric of his shirt in her small hand. "Whether the curse is lifted, they'll kill you!" She told him in a low tone, leaning in desperately to stare at him.

Jack's mostly hooded eyes did not change at her words. "I am Captain Jack Sparrow, lass," He told her in a low, raspy but knowing voice. "I have a plan, as always. Trust the pirate."

"You have a plan?" She asked in an even, but unbelieving tone. "To take on an entire crew of the most horrible, filthy-"

"Miss Swann, if you'd be so kind." She had heard those words before. So Jack did have a plan. That didn't mean she was going to let him walk into his own death trap.

"No! Jack I'm not letting you-"

"It's Captain to you, Missy, and now- ff you go." He said, his tone showing that he had running out of patience. "AnaMaria?" Jack said, and the woman came to grab Elizabeth's elbows and pull her back while the dinghy was lowered.

Ms. Swann gave Jack her most ferocious scowl for as long as she could see his face, but soon, he was gone.

"Come, Missy." AnaMaria said to Elizabeth and held her back gently, but strongly as Jack's boat was lowered and he rowed off.

"You just want Jack to perish." She said calmly, turning to the crew once AnaMaria let go of her. "I see through you all." Few of them bowed their heads, but most started back at her angrily.

"Jack has gone to do what Jack does. If he falls, he falls. It's the code." AnaMaria said.

Elizabeth's eyes widened. She didn't know that she was right in accusing the crew. "The Code?" She asked and scowled. "The Code!" She was nearly ready to tell these pirates just where to put that Code when a thought dawned on her.

"Well then... off to the Pearl!" She called and looked around. The crew before her was staring in wonderment. And they thought they could manage without Jack. "No one's on the Pearl- and if they are, then there's only but a few of them!" They still stared without any sign of understanding. "I myself have been inside those caves- they're all in there, save for probably two or three. Dead or not dead the lot of us must be able to figure out how to deal with such a small number!"

"So..." Gibbs started. "We're goin' to stroll over and... take 'er?"

"Exactly!" Elizabeth called and started towards the stairs. "But we should take some of the irons and cutlasses incase we need to bound them! They're below deck in the brig." She stopped on the second stair down and waved her arms, "Come you lethargic pirates!" She shouted hastily.

They followed her and went for the shackles and swords that were stored in one of the empty cells- the Interceptor had only taken her maiden voyage a few months ago, so the cells hadn't been used save for one stow-away drunkard. Elizabeth stood to the side and waved them all in to get their choice of weapon and chains, but when they turned from the piles with their arms full, the crew of Tortuga's craziest pirates were met with a locked cell and a missing governor's daughter.

Elizabeth quickly ran up the stairs with a smile or triumph on her face and made for the starboard side- the side facing the caves. It was a rather long way there, but she was sure she'd make it there to in time to help Jack. And she was sure to spend the entirety of her trip thinking of how she would do just that.

The rowing made her arms ache so, but she continued on because she knew that those caves weren't far off. In fact, she had been wishing the trip was longer the last time she was in a row boat in this waterway. She reached the end of the strait and the entrance of the cave to see Jack and Barbossa dueling fiercely. Elizabeth couldn't see any of the other pirates, and she knew there were at least three or four score of them on the ship- if not more. Will was fighting off three pirates on the other side of the cavern from the two captains.

"You can't beat me, Jack." She heard from the right, Barbossa impatiently waiting for Jack to give up.

Jack in turn stuck his sword into Barbossa's mid-section, and looked at it expectantly. Barbossa merely wobbled backwards from the force of the blow, but felt nothing, of course. He sighed, possibly thinking to himself that Jack could be quite dense at times.

"No Jack, guard yourself." Elizabeth whispered and grabbed onto one of the rather large rocks next to her.

Without any more hesitation, Barbossa pulled the sword out of his own stomach and punctured Jack's.

"Jack!" Elizabeth screeched, her voice echoing off of the walls. She sprinted out from behind the rock, but stopped short at Barbossa's pistol was aimed at her. At her yell, everyone's attention went to the fighting Captains, Will didn't pay much attention to Jack, but looked questioningly at Elizabeth, and Jack stumbled backwards. "No." She said, her voice just above a whisper.

This feeling was a new one for Captain Jack Sparrow. He was about to turn around and smile at Elizabeth, just to scare her, but instead decided to frighten Barbossa. He took a few more steps backwards and as the moonlight from above landed on his body, a disturbing sound was heard as his flesh disappeared and he appeared just as rotten as the rest of the crew he was against.

"What?" Elizabeth asked in a whisper, looking frantically back from Jack to Barbossa. His pistol had dropped from being aimed at her, so she took three large strides to the right and hid behind a rock.

Jack wore a skeleton-smirk as he held up one of his hands. "That's int'resting." He said off handedly and looked back to Barbossa, the medallion that he had stolen before clinking between his bony fingers as he toyed with it. "Couldn't resist, mate."

Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief as Jack removed his own sword from himself and began to fight once again. Footsteps from behind her brought Elizabeth back to where she actually was, in a cave of un-dead pirates with no form of protection. At the last second, she bent and picked up a vast scepter and swung it as hard as she could towards the pirate rushing towards her.


	8. Chapter 8

thanks to everyone that's reviewed the whole time!. Queen Bowie, Mrs. Skywalker, CaptainAnna, Murdererer, steph** AND MY ALMIGHTY! ** Yup, Mrs. Skywalker, this part is kind of outlining the script for a moment, but not for long and constructive criticism only, if you please.

Chapter 8- I'm keeping this chapter just a bit shorter than the rest, so I can _actually post chapter nine!_WHAT EXCITEMENT! Holy lord! I'm all done revising this one I ROCK! Thanks for reading guys! And as a side note, might I please recommend muting the movie during the Barbossa/jack fight and playing KaBoom KaBoom by Marilyn Manson! It's extremely entertaining! --

Elizabeth felt pride well up inside of her heart as she fought alongside Will, knowing that not just any woman could hold her own as she was. The two of them pinned the three pirates that remained in the cave alongside Barbossa together with a scepter, then stuffed an explosive inside them and pushing them back out of the moonlight. The middle pirate whimpered, "No fair," but he was blown to smithereens seconds later.

As Elizabeth ran by she grinned to herself and thought, 'Skeleton or not, that'll be the end of them.' Her smile dropped though, as she saw the infamous Captain seemingly blur past her towards the chest of gold.

Jack pulled a medallion out of his sash as he was in mid-run, and ran his blade over his palm, soaking the gold in blood before spinning and throwing the object at Will Turner, who in turn did the same and ripped his medallion from the chain on his neck.

Seeing that Sparrow and Turner were working together in something, Barbossa jerked his pistol out of his sash and pointed it at Elizabeth. She gasped and stopped short on a small rock in the middle of the cave, water surrounding her. A shot rang out and she watched in horror and fear that Jack had shot too soon.

Barbossa thought so as well. "Ten years ye carry that pistol and now you waste your shot?" He asked, the dry wound in his chest smoking slightly.

"He didn't waste it!" Will shouted and let go of both of the gold coins. They fell to the chest, disrupting the other coins around them before they seemed to glow for only a moment, then fade to what an orange-rust color before returning to their alluring gold shine.

"I feel..." Barbossa began to sense the temperature rise in his limbs, but then fall just as fast, and when he reached his tingling arms up to move his shirts and see the wound, he saw the saucy red liquid ooze out at a rapid pace. "cold." He finished before falling backwards and landing ironically on a large mound on gold.

Elizabeth hastily ran over to Jack and stopped short to stare at him, but only for an instant. She threw all propriety to the side and ripped his shirt open before Jack could object.

"Wha -" He started but stopped as she frantically searched his stomach- she couldn't even see a trace of the wound inflicted by Barbossa just a few moments ago.

She grabbed onto his shoulders and pushed him backwards to get a different look at his tanned stomach, then looked up when he grabbed her wrists. "How can that be?"

"Curse is a curse, love." Jack told her and lowered her arms. He didn't bother to adjust his shirt as he started to look around him at the treasure. Even as he walked away, he called over his shoulder, "I suppose me mangy crew has head off already."

Elizabeth watched Will walk closer to her before looking back to Jack with a sidelong glance towards the cave's opening. "Uhm, probably not, actually." Elizabeth said and flashed a frightened smile.

"What?" Jack asked, throwing a small grail over his left shoulder the ground before he walked closer to Elizabeth. He stopped only when he was less than a foot away and stared at her for a second before asking, "What did you say, love."

Elizabeth cleared her throat before leaning back a few inches and looked again at Will. "Your crew," She started and looked back to Jack. "Should still be waiting for you on the Interceptor." She told him clearly and he looked at her with his head tilted slightly to the left.

"Lie." He said and narrowed his eyes. "They kept to the code." Elizabeth started to speak, but couldn't find words, so she decided to listen. "They kept to the code, Barbossa's crew were on their way to ambush a ship which wasn't there."

Suddenly Jack's plan became clear to Elizabeth. The pirates had been beneath her, somewhere below the surface of the ocean and if he had any sense of timing at all, Jack would have managed to break the curse before they could reach the Interceptor (because it wouldn't have been there), giving them all a death that made the hairs on Elizabeth's neck stand up. "Of course," Elizabeth said and turned around before Jack could discover the fear in her eyes. She instead picked up a pearl necklace and observed it closely.

Jack lifted his head and looked down his nose towards the girl. "I think it's time we be making our way to the Pearl." Jack said, mostly to himself, never taking his skeptic gaze off Elizabeth.

The woman in question bit her lip and looked to the roof of the cave, praying that she didn't put a perfectly good crew to their deaths by locking them in the brig of the ship, unknowingly keeping them from going along with Jack's plan.


	9. Chapter 9

THANKS FOR READING GUYS, AND NOW THAT THIS IS A NEW CHAPTER, YOU HAVE TO REVIEW IT! WHY AM I YELLING…. LOUD NOISES! Heh… sorry guys.

Chapter 9-- AHHH WE'RE DONE WITH THE MOVIE! NO MORE OF IT, IT DIED! Heh, never, but I am done with the stupid script, and now EVERYONE CAN BE HAPPY and there are some mild but oh so good lookin' je times in this chappie!

Elizabeth intently stared at the bandage on her wounded hand and played with the frayed edges instead of making eye contact with the pirate across from her. Now that the action was nearly over, she was becoming increasingly aware of her state of dress; a pair of white men's breeches and a black waistcoat. She was also aware of the look Jack was giving her, a lame stare, which gave her feeling of degradation.

Will rowed out of the pirates cave and watched on in silence as his two companions seemed to fight a battle with no words. Afraid of what might happen if he said anything, Will stayed silent, but not without subconsciously running Jack's warning of 'don't do anything stupid' through his mind.

Jack finally had enough of the situation, and moved forward to rest his wrists on his knees so fast that Will felt it disrupt the entire dinghy. "Elizabeth, I'm gon' to ask ye one more time. Just what-"

"Oh dear God." She said, cutting him off mid-sentence.

Jack followed her eyes and looked out to the dark waters around them and saw several objects floating stiffly. Will turned also, stilling the ors, and started as well at what he saw. It wasn't seaweed or even logs that polluted the water around the Isle de Muerta. Three, maybe four score of bodies danced on the top of the water, bloated as if the decaying process had been sped up a notch. A stench had already made its way from the bodies of the pirates, and sat upon the surface of the ocean, stifling whatever the three had to say.

"They must've been under water when-" Will started quietly, catching on, but stopped.

"That's one way to win." Will Turner heard and looked behind him. He would have expected to hear something like that come from Jack Sparrow, but not Elizabeth Swann, Governor's daughter.

"What'd'ya jus' say?" Jack asked and looked at her crookedly with somewhat of a grin gracing his face.

Elizabeth just shot him a look that seemed to quiet him, and Will began cautiously rowing again. Occasionally, the ors would dully hit against a body, and he would shove it away, his mind full of thoughts of what Gibbs might say at such a time.

In silence, Elizabeth looked back and forth between the men currently providing her with company. Jack was acting so mysterious, but she had gathered that this behavior was normal for him. What had he meant with all those things he said and... did- on the ship?

Will was headed toward the Pearl, but Elizabeth leaned forward and placed a hand on his forearm to still his movements. "Head to the Interceptor." She said lowly, and avoided the look she was receiving from Jack. She just simply hated that look.

"Why, Miss Swann, would we go there?"

"I- I told you why." Elizabeth answered, keeping her tone certain though she was still slightly afraid. The rotten stench of dead pirates wafted around her, but did that mean that the crew she had locked up was still safe? "The crew is on the Interceptor."

Jack narrowed his eyes in a true trademark fashion, but said nothing as Will changed directions of his rowing. The only woman present tried her hardest not to falter under the Captain's hard stare, which remained on her relentlessly.

Once they reached the side of the Interceptor, they secured the dinghy and climbed up the rigging that had led Elizabeth down just a small amount of time ago. The lady was the last to set foot on the deck, ignoring the help offered from Will, and nervously walked towards the hatch that hid a set of stairs leading down to the brig. Her heart raced, pounding in her ears as she sent a desperate and silent plea for the men that had been stowed away to be safe.

When she pulled the hatch open with strength that no lady was to have to illustrate, she was genuinely relieved to hear shouting from the bottom of the stairs. She straightened her posture and heard something like a count down from five. "What in bloody'ell are they doin' down there?" Jack asked, bending and staring down the stairs to the source of the noise.

Ms. Swann didn't answer, but added more unladylike confidence to her step as she descended lower into the ship.

"-Three, two-- It's Elizabeth!" She heard them all call, and looked in their direction. They were all there still, locked in the same cell, apparently trying to concoct some sort of an escape. Will shook his head at the site, thinking to himself, 'If only these criminals knew how poorly built the English cells are...', then looked to Jack, who was still standing on the stairs, out of site of the 'prisoners'.

"I tell ya she's bloody daft!" Anna Maria called angrily, and stuck her arm out from the cell, reaching for Elizabeth in a threat.

"Oh-" Elizabeth said with a smirk, and held up the key, just out of reach. "I decided that we **should** just leave Jack... I mean... those pirates positively reek, and seem so... **unbeatable**." She told them thoughtfully.

"Now she sees **our** way!" Marty called, knee high to the woman who was currently not imprisoned- seconds before Jack bound down the stairs.

"You vulgar little maggots!" Jack called, and stepped right up to the iron bars separating him and his crew, then grinned at their expressions. "Can'ot blame ye for stickin' to the code, sadly." He nodded his head toward the lock, cuing Elizabeth to free them.

"Anna Maria, you have your boat." Jack said with a bow, making no effort to correct himself in calling the thing a boat instead of a sloop as it rightfully was labeled. They all knew it was a jab on the size of the thing, but none dared to cross Anna Maria- who was now a captain herself. "Now back to the Pearl, the lot of you!" He commanded to the crew.

"Wait! What about men?" Anna Maria said, ignoring the glare he cast down at her hand as it made contact with his forearm.

"Well... ye could prolly make it t'Tortuga with two men. But I'll spare ye… that one." Jack said and pointed at the midget, "and... That one." he threw his other hand in the direction of a sailor that served as a gunner in their previous battle with the Pearl. His arms dropped, and his eyes wandered around the hold of the ship until they landed upon Will Turner. "Boy, ye know th' workin's o' this boat, do y'mind?" He asked, clapping his hands together in a plea.

Will nodded in approval, and watched as Elizabeth hesitantly left with the crew of The Black Pearl. Did he really trust them alone with a lady?


	10. Chapter 10

Alright, folks, the devil is the longest seam of a ship, the very bottom (but still inside) and it's in a like… 2 foot tall thing… hard to describe. And paying is putting tar on it, it's what they used to caulk. So. Paying the devil isn't another curse yet.(-: )

Chapter 10

Will Turner was probably very right to not quite trust Jack with a lady. But he never stopped to consider whether or not he trusted Elizabeth with a pirate, or which of the two could do more damage. He felt somewhat settled, though, knowing that The Pearl would within shouting distance in front of the Interceptor for the whole four-day trip back to Port Royal.

At least that's where he assumed they were going. And in that assumption, he was very, very wrong.

"Elizabeth, darling," Jack said, opening the door to his cabin to see Elizabeth sitting at his charting table. "Did you manage to hurt yourself on that little adventure?"

She stared at him openly before quietly answering, "No."

"Oh good," Jack said and waved his arms a bit before noticing that she was looking at him intently. He looked behind him and then concentrated on her again. "What?"

"Why aren't I on the Interceptor?" No one thus far had been brave enough to question the Captain's orders, but rather carried them out without a comment.

Jack grinned at her, and his eyes seemed to laugh. "The Pearl's a much larger ship, more guns and better armed- in the case that anything should happen." He stated lowly and folded his arms in front of him.

Ms. Swann continued to stare at him, and let her gaze remain on his back as he turned and walked away from her, out his dark door and back onto the deck. She didn't know what to make of this situation, and she was slightly scared, but most importantly she couldn't shake the feeling that this was exactly where she wanted to be.

Jack Sparrow grinned to himself as his feet took him across the deck at even paces. The sea was where he belonged. The tossing and turning of the ship against the water calmed down his feet, making them feel completely at home instead of hopelessly lost on the solid ground. With Mr. Gibbs at the wheel, he took a few moments to relish in the feeling of home his ship brought him, and placed his hands behind his back while looking out to sea.

He wasn't surprised in the least when Ms. Swann approached him several minutes later. She stood close to him, staring at him as he stared at the water, waiting for him to falter and look at her. Jack's lips parted and he gave a grin before turning and gazing down his nose at her.

She started under the intensity of the look, and thought to herself, 'I'll never get used to that...' "Jack?" She asked, with an empty tone- she had nothing to add to it.

"Aye?" He asked and she kept a firm jaw and never moved her gaze. He served her with a smile that stretched lazily across his face before leaning back a bit and returning his eyes to the dark waters. His hand found its way to her neck, burrowing through her hair to find her soft warm skin. "No worries, Love."

She had heard him say this before, and, now and here, it brought her a great sense of safety. "Is what you did," She started and swallowed, her eyes closed. "_earlier_... What did you," Elizabeth stumbled on her words, but Jack offered no help in finding the right thing to say.

As if realizing for the first time that The Pearl was not alone in the waters, Elizabeth spun around, effectively removing herself from Jack's grasp, and peered at The Interceptor. If she looked hard enough, either her eyes or her imagination showed her Will Turner, standing at the railing with his hands latched onto the lines, watching her intently. She swallowed the guilt that rushed to her heart, and turned back around to face Jack.

With a gentle nod of her head, she silently asked him to go back to his cabin, out of sight, and within minutes, she was sitting on the edge of his bed waiting for him to join her. Jack loved anticipation, and made sure to take his dear time checking over all components of the Pearl.

Before the two ships had left the bay outside of the cursed caves, the severely under-staffed pirate ship received new sails. The things were treacherous, if only in Jack's mind. The blasted things were white. They had been stored in the hold, all the way the in the deep hold, below the devil, and had been stumbled upon as Jack was checking damage from the battle with the Interceptor. So, as every soul on the ship helped string up the new sails, leaving only seven black, torn sheets up in the end.

The Pearl, no longer reaching its top speed with no curse to push it along without good sails, suffered minimal damage below the waterline, aside from the protective layers of copper sheathing and paint to keep the critters away. Most of the damage was already in the process of being temporarily repaired by Moises, a rather skilled carpenter, and several other hands. Poor Marty, in punishment for being a mere three feet tall, was Paying the devil, a chore for which Jack apologized before even assigning.

Jack stood momentarily on the quarterdeck, aware of the three men up in the rigging working to keep the sails in the best possible condition. The poor wood of the railing may never be what it once was, but he was sure that he could restore it a bit.

Feeling that he had kept Elizabeth waiting long enough, Captain Jack Sparrow turned animatedly on a heel and walked towards his cabin with his hands behind his back.

Elizabeth's patience had just about been worn through entirely, and she was quite near livid when Jack Sparrow opened the door to his own cabin with all the cheerfulness in the world. After having sat in silence for nearly a half an hour, Elizabeth stood up immediately and took a defensive stance before the captain.

"What do you want from me, Captain Sparrow?" She asked him in a even tone, her eyes nearly threatening him.

Jack laughed, his cheeks raising up in a manner that reminded the woman in front of him of a toddler. He turned his head to the side and let the expression melt into a grin before facing her again. "Why Ms. Swann," He said stepping to her side, and wrapping an arm around the small of her back. "It's what you want that matters."

Elizabeth's entire body tingled in such a way that made her hands form into fists as the Captain of the Black Pearl kissed her neck softly.

Jack smirked at the reaction, mistaking it for disgust, and was pleasantly surprised when the young girl, barely a woman by his standards, turned to him and offered herself up to him. Jack's shocked mind let his body run on instinct as she wrapped her arms around his neck and stood up on her toes to reach him. Their mouths met in a kiss that was so much more than the single one they'd shared before, much more than could ever be put into words.

The Pirate and the Lady moved together in the Captains Cabin, and Elizabeth was finally sure for the first time of what she wanted.

FIN.

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Ok so i revised this to be the end. I'm just too happy with it where it is. Thanks to everyone that read and reviewed!

Spanks so much for all the hits and reviews! You all ROCK.


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